Poneas Fogg recently returned from his much-celebrated eighty-day journey around the world, but a new challenger has arisen, and a bet with Prince Blueblood will slash that time significantly. Sometimes winning isn’t the point.

Princess Celestia and Smart Cookie have watched Equestria rise. They share a dream that’s entwined their hearts for two thousand years, and a love that’s given them the strength to see it realized. Now they face the ultimate test of that love.

Everypony on Rarity’s ship is in love with someone impossible. Some earn their fortune and go back to claim their love. Others find love along the way, or outgrow their crush and move on. Rarity? She’s in love with the sky.

There are not many things that Rainbow Dash can't withstand. She can take on danger all day long, but when it comes to the bitter cold she is beat. In search of shelter from the cold, she ends up spending the night at the Apples, alone with Big Mac.

Four chapters, "Seeds," "Stems," "Thorns," and "Flowers," with the whole thing finished by June 30th as my entry in Jake the Army Guy's contest. But, well, you know what they say about the best-laid plans of pangolins and ponies...

Well now. This seems like a match made in some afterlife, but I dare not yet say which. Definitely looking forward to seeing where you go with this. I especially love Sunrise's background. No wonder she's so defensive of the family fruit.

That was one of the first moments I pictured when I came up with this idea: Applejack throwing her hat on the ground, allowing herself one "Consarn it!" and then setting out to do what she could to make this whole thing work.

I tried to do some things with giving Sunrise a lot of the traditionally male parts of the romance--she's the traveler and the talker and the grouch with a carefully hidden heart of gold--and Braeburn a lot of the traditionally female parts--he's the headstrong local beauty, slightly flighty but overflowing with kindness--and I like how that turned out...

we'll have the better part of a day to wrastle Cousin Red into letting you court Braeburn.

I can almost get behind Braeburn being bossed around by his sister and not getting to go on night patrols, that being a source of plot-relevant angst, but having somepony else making the decision of who he is and isn't allowed to date and nopony seeing anything wrong with that, is just downright painful. If it's meant to be "charmingly old-fashioned", then it's about as charming as mentioning separate drinking fountains and certain ponies not being allowed on golf courses. Reversing the historical gender roles doesn't really make it work; it's just uncomfortable and distracting.

It's a great story otherwise, though. As far as crack ships go, this is an intriguing one, based on A.J. being the one degree of separation. The buildup was well-paced. The ending was a little too quick, and I think some storytelling opportunity was lost. I liked the way Braeburn's side of the narration was done in his speaking style. Strawberry's character is well-done; it's rare to see the inside of the mind of a jerk. (And it's decently accurate -- I speak from first-hand knowledge.) And in a technical sense, the writing is top-notch. I think Applejack is presented as a little too hot-headed and assholish, and combined with the thing with Red I mentioned before, it makes the Apples as a whole look worse than I like to think they are.

Charmingly old-fashioned. It's just meant to be just plain old-fashioned. If I hadn't run up against the contest deadline, I would've had Strawberry raise more of a stink about it, but I didn't get a chance to give the whole thing a last pass, alas...